Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint the Council failed to follow its complaint procedure. That is because Mrs X has started legal action against the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to follow its complaint procedure after she made a complaint. She said instead of responding to the complaint, the Council sent her a warning letter about her contact. She said the warning letter included factual inaccuracies which the Council had refused to amend.
2. Mrs X wants the Council to withdraw the warning letter. She also wants it to apologise for failing to follow the correct procedures for complaint handling.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint the Council failed to follow its complaint procedure after she made a complaint. That is because Mrs X has started legal proceedings against the Council in response to the warning letter it issued. Any concerns she has about the Council’s decision not to follow its complaint procedure, the content of the letter and its refusal to withdraw it are not separable from her legal claim. Therefore, the law says we have no jurisdiction to investigate. It is reasonable for Mrs X to raise these matters with the Court.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has started legal proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman